With many available resources at our fingertips, Weber State can give aid to Wildcats in need.

Although sometimes overlooked, the nontraditional students have specific resources to benefit from, like financial aid and academic opportunities.

Here are some resources that shed light on what Weber State has to offer for nontrad students seeking to get more involved on campus:

Nontraditional Student Center Scholarships: What does it take to get a scholarship? Well, for nontrads, maintaining a 3.0 GPA, submitting a FAFSA and being nontraditional is pretty much all it takes. Some of these scholarships include the Rising Star Scholarship, Walter C. Swanson Scholarship and the Nontraditional Student Center Activity Wavier. Although the eligibility requirements vary from scholarship to scholarship, anything can help for a successful school year.

Nontraditional Student Center Hourly Childcare: It’s hard enough in college to keep track of yourself. Throw in a couple of kids and your whole world can turn upside down. Lucky for WSU students the nontrad center is thinking about parents and their college experience. The hourly childcare offers flexible hours at minimal cost. Even back-up care is provided for parents in a bind. All you have to do is register at www.weber.edu/nontrad for application forms.

Single Moms Success Program:With a series of 10 group activities, the Single Moms Success Program gives mothers a chance to design strategies and connect with other single moms on campus. From goal setting, to learning how to cook on a budget, these activities allow Wildcat moms to build skills needed for college success. The program is free and all single parents are welcome to participate.

Contact the Women’s Center office at 801-626-6090 for more information.

The Women’s Center offers many different resources geared towards single moms and nontraditional students alike. (Source: Women’s Center)

Women’s Center Connection Book:Although some resources are not offered at Weber State, the Women’s Center Connection Book offers valuable insight into other available resources in local areas. Some resources include the WIC program to help mothers, child care resource and referral to help find good daycares and many more. The list goes on and on.

Pick up a copy at the Women’s Center located in the Shepherd Union Building, room 322.

Veterans Upward Bound:Branching off from the WSU Veteran Student Services, the Veterans Upward Bound offers college vets tutoring, financial aid application assistance and study skills development. Along with college survival advice, the VUB gives additional resources that any veteran can benefit from, like disabilities and employment resources.

Other resources on campus include the computer labs, writing center, Student Support Services, online tutoring, the Student Wellness Program, Services for Students with Disabilities and more.

The Nontraditional Student Center & Hourly Child Care and Women’s Center, both located in the Shepherd Union Building, Suite 322, hosted the Queen of Hearts Open House to kicked off fall semester on Sept. 4. Continuing the Block Party’s theme of Wildcat Wonderland, the centers were decorated with rabbits, Mad Hatters, decks of cards and especially queens. There was an assortment of refreshments, people to talk to and a drawing for prizes.

More than half of the Weber State University community is nontraditional. A nontraditional student is someone 25 years or older, married/divorced/widowed, or a parent. The center focuses on student support, from academic progress and social adjustment into the WSU community to assisting and encouraging students to utilize university departments, faculty and staff, programs, and student organizations.

“We have an open house every fall with the Women’s Center. We’re hoping to spread the word that we have a nontrad center here at Weber,” said Cathy Barrow, secretary for the Nontraditional Student Center. “So many students do not know about us. In fact, we always have students walk in saying, ‘I’ve been here two or three years and I never knew about your services.'”

The Nontraditional Student Center includes a computer lab with nine computers students can use for studies or personal needs (nontraditional students can use up to 40 sheets of paper each week for their printing needs), a small kitchen for those who bring their lunches or need to make something on campus, a study space and a child care facility. Purple Pals is a club the Nontraditional Student Center sponsors for children 17 and younger that offers free activities and costs $8 per semester for membership. The Davis campus also has a center for nontraditional students living in Davis County.

“Above anything else, we are a community,” said WSU senior Jayrod Garrett, a peer adviser for the Nontraditional Student Center. “We are here to support each other through the process of getting through school, having to take care of children, trying just to see that we can all actually find our own brand of success.”

Garrett’s main focus is to help students find what they need and work with their advisers in general studies and in their departments. Nontraditional students might not be as familiar with the current school process as traditional students are, and that’s where the Nontraditional Student Center comes in, Garrett said.

The Nontraditional Student Center will continue to put on events throughout the year, such as the Family Homecoming Dance on Sept. 27, Halloween in Nontrad on Oct. 30, and the Best Beard Contest, which will run Nov. 1–21. The winners of the beard contest will be awarded their prizes at the center’s Thanksgiving feast on Nov. 21.

Nontraditional Student Center coordinator Debbie Cragun urges everyone to visit the center and check out the different services and scholarships it offers.

“Nontraditional students are very involved with their education,” she said. “They believe in volunteering, they believe in giving back to the community. Many of them help their peers, and they are the kind of student who will go beyond just the degree. They believe in the holistic approach to their education.”

The Women’s Center played an educational video for students to watch during the open house while they waited for a volunteer to answer their questions. A total of 647 students used the Women’s Center’s services in 2012. In 2012–13 the center performed 1,717 sessions, and 78 percent were with students, 22 percent with non-students; 37 percent of the sessions/interactions were for one-on-one advisement, 46 percent were from students attending one of its programs, events or support groups, and 17 percent were from community collaborations or there for other various reasons.

Living by the motto “Advocate, educate, empower,” the Women’s Center focuses on visitors discovering strategies to handle circumstances such as finding community resources, networking with other women, staying in college and solving problems. It hosts national awareness months for breast cancer, domestic violence, sexual assault and women’s history at WSU. It also holds Survive and Thrive conferences for single parents and Women’s Empowerment events. With the center’s support groups, student engagement opportunities and a student advisory board, women’s advocate/program specialist Dorothy Hill recommends all women get involved.

Also coming up is the 10th Annual Women’s Business Conference on Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Building. Women can register at WIBWE.com or visit the Women’s Center for more information.

Many of the women who come into the Women’s Center are concerned and feel as though they don’t have any options, Hill said.

“Optimism is one of the key things we offer,” said Women’s Center director Carol E. Merrill.